Coach Davide Ballardini praised Genoa’s new arrivals as the Grifoni held leaders Milan at the Marassi.As Genoa added further spice to the scudetto race by holding Milan to a 1-1 draw, Grifoni tactician Davide Ballardini praised his men for their battling spirit against the league leaders.

“We battled and played a great game today,” he declared to SkySport.

“Considering the quality of opposition we were up against this afternoon this point is very important to us.

“My men put in a decent showing for the entire 90 minutes and we could have even won given the chances.

“It’s never easy to integrate new arrivals after the transfer window, but I must give credit to the likes of [Antonio] Floro Flores for the manner in which they are uniting our team work ethic.”